Beat has teamed up with Boroondara Arts for Strings and Voices, a three-night run of adventurous chamber music at Hawthorn Arts Centre across August – and we're giving two readers the chance to be in the room.
There are two double passes to give away. Win one and you’ll choose the night that suits you, whether that pulls you towards luminous art-pop, amplified harps or a disco ball in the concert hall.
Strings and Voices
- Georgia Fields with Andromeda String Quartet – Hawthorn Arts Centre, 8 August
- Invenio and Harpedelique – Hawthorn Arts Centre, 15 August
- Homophonic! and Elysian Blues – Hawthorn Arts Centre, 29 August
Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around Melbourne here.
The series opens on 8 August, when singer-songwriter Georgia Fields joins Andromeda String Quartet for string-and-vocal arrangements of her original songs, folding live-looping, soaring vocals and beat-boxing into something at once intimate and cinematic. Multi-instrumentalist Happy Axe, aka Emma Kelly, warms the room first with her hypnotic loops and shadowy atmospherics.
On 15 August, two ensembles share a double bill. Invenio, formed by vocalist Gian Slater in 2010, weaves a cappella singing, extended vocal techniques and choreographed movement into its original works. They’re paired with Harpedelique, whose amplified harps conjure film-score drama under the musical direction of Liana Perillo.
The run closes on 29 August with Homophonic! and its RESPECT Project, a celebration of Australia’s living queer history built from conversations between LGBTIQA+ elders and today’s composers, brought to life by The Consort of Melbourne and the Homophonic! String Quintet. Opening the evening, Chinese-Australian multi-instrumentalist Qiqi Lu and pianist Kym Dillon share selections from Elysian Blues, a genre-defying piece that sets the ancient guzheng against jazz piano and improvisation.
To enter, just drop in your name and email for your chance to win. Winners can pick whichever of the three nights they’d like to attend.
For more information, head here.
